


Addict With A Drum Set

by mindlesszombies



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Drug Abuse, Drug Experimentation, Drug Use, Marijuana, Prescription Drugs, alcohol use
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2016-08-03
Packaged: 2018-07-24 18:37:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7518994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mindlesszombies/pseuds/mindlesszombies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Josh experiments with alcohol and various drugs. Sometimes he takes things too far.</p>
<p>Tyler watches his best friend and worries about him. Sometimes he doesn't worry enough.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>~A series of chronological one shots detailing Josh's journey into the world of recreational drugs.~</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Liquor Before Beer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh receives drinking advice from a girl in a bar.

On a Saturday night in a small sports bar in a city neither of them call home, Tyler and Josh sit on bar stools and mingle with their crew members and various other patrons. An air of levity floats around them as Tyler laughs at something Josh says, and Josh laughs back. Josh waves for a bartender, giggling along with his best friend. A man of short stature with hair to make up for it walks over.

“What can I get you guys?”

“Two Dos Equis, please,” Josh orders.

“Sure thing.” The bartender opens a glass-paned cabinet and pulls two green bottles out. “Y’all seem to be having a good time, can I ask what you’re celebrating?” he asks as he places the bottles on coasters and slides them towards the boys. 

Tyler brandishes a bright smile and answers. “We’re a band, and we just played our biggest gig ever.” Josh watches Tyler’s expression, and bites his lip to keep himself from smiling too widely.

The bartender looks impressed. “Congratulations, boys.” Tyler and Josh thank him as he walks away to serve another patron. 

Josh raises his bottle towards Tyler. “Cheers.”

“Cheers, dude.” 

They clink their bottles together, and just as Josh is about to press his to his lips, a small voice interrupts.

“Are you gonna start with beer?”

Josh looks to his left and sees a girl with long black hair and striking blue eyes staring at his beer expectantly.

“What?”

The girl blinks and looks at him with surprise in her features, as if she didn’t expect him to answer. “Did I say that out loud?”

Josh laughs and places his beer on its coaster. “Yeah, you did.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude. I’m pretty fuckin’ drunk right now and that was supposed to be a thought in my head.”

Josh and Tyler share a look of amusement. Josh asks “What did you mean by that, though?”

She places her own drink down and holds her hands out in front of her as if to begin speaking with them. “Beer before liquor makes you sicker. Liquor before beer, you’re in the clear.” Josh raises an eyebrow, and she droopily rolls her eyes. “It’s just a stupid saying, but it’s true. If you guys are celebrating, you should keep it in mind.” 

Josh looks as though he’s considering her words. “Thanks, that’s good to know.” She nods and leaves with her drink. Josh turns back to Tyler, shrugs, then waves the bartender over again. 

Tyler looks at Josh with confusion laying plain across his face. “What are you doing?” 

“What’s up?” The bartender asks.

“Can I get a mojito?”

“Absolutely, one minute.” 

As the bartender begins preparing Josh’s drink, Tyler takes a swig from his beer, then asks “Were you planning on doing any hard drinking in the first place?”

“I wanna see if she’s right,” Josh answers simply.

* * *

Josh ends up drinking two more mojitos, then drinking his abandoned beer and ordering another one of those. Tyler, however, is only on his second beer by this point. He feels like he needs to watch out for Josh, so he decides to take it easy. He sits in the same barstool he claimed at the beginning of the night, and watches Josh walk around the floor and talk to different people. Although Tyler doesn’t necessarily condone heavy drinking, he does like the fact that Josh’s anxiety practically disappears when he gets drunk. As long as Josh is having a good time, that’s all that matters to Tyler.

Josh is a different kind of drunk than he’s ever been before. He’s sloppy and staggers when he walks, and he can feel it too. Josh is acutely aware of exactly how drunk he is, and for the first time he doesn’t feel bad about it. He’s smiling and laughing out loud at the smallest things, and Tyler decides he’ll be okay if he leaves him alone for a little while. He leaves his stool for the first time in over an hour, and goes to find Mark. The two engage in a pool battle, and Mark quickly takes the lead.

“If I sink this one, you have to credit Cameron Diaz on the next album,” Mark says as he lines up his pool stick with the final striped ball. 

Tyler snorts. “And if you don’t, you have to come out on stage in bootyshorts during Holding On To You.” 

Mark sinks the ball, and Tyler rolls his eyes.

“It’ll be in very, very, _very_ fine print.” 

Mark smirks. “Whatever, dude.”

Tyler wanders around for a bit and observes the various levels of inebriation in his vicinity. His own euphoria is wearing off, and he almost envies those around him who know how to let loose and lose themselves in the alcohol. The same bartender who served them hours earlier taps Tyler on the shoulder.

“We’re gonna be closing up soon, you should let your friends know.”

Tyler nods and decides it’s time to find Josh. He circles the bar and doesn’t find his friend, and a feeling of dread settles itself in the pit of his stomach. He knows there’s probably nothing to worry about, but worrying is one of the things Tyler does best. On his second go-round of the bar, he finds Josh slumped over a table, with his head laying on his folded arms. The feeling of dread grows deeper as Tyler approaches his best friend. He places a hand on Josh’s shoulder.

“Josh?”

No response.

“...Josh?” Tyler begins shaking him. 

Josh grunts and lifts his head. Hooded eyes meet Tyler’s, and the dreadful feeling in Tyler’s gut dissipates. “Come on, the bar’s closing up. We gotta go.” 

“Five more minutes.” Josh groans and drops his head back into the table. Tyler chuckles and gives in. He closes their tab and pays for both Josh and himself, and lets the crew know that they have to leave soon. He walks back over to Josh and shakes him awake again.

“Five more minuuutes.”

“Josh, I already gave you five minutes. We gotta go.”

“Carry me.” Josh holds his arms out, and Tyler can’t help but laugh. 

“Come on.” He chuckles and wraps Josh’s arms around his shoulders to help stand him up. He assists Josh with walking to the exit, and they slowly but surely make their way around to the back parking lot where their tour bus is. Tyler leans Josh against the bus while he opens the doors. Josh begins losing his balance, but Tyler is quick to straighten him out. Guiding Josh up the stairs of the bus is a bit of a challenge, but they take them one step at a time and make it inside in just a matter of two minutes. Tyler walks Josh down the narrow hallway and leans him against the bathroom door. “Pee, and get ready for bed.” Josh giggles. “What’s so funny?”

“You said ‘pee’.”

“Oh my god. Shut up.”

Josh continues giggling as he locks himself in the bathroom. 

“Brush your teeth while you’re at it!” Tyler calls through the door.

“Yes, mom,” Josh retorts. Tyler grins.

He changes into pajama and joins Josh to brush his teeth after he hears the toilet flush. They brush together and spit at the same time, then smile at each other with their toothpaste-smeared teeth. Tyler rinses his mouth first, then asks, “Do you wanna put pajamas on?”

Josh rinses and spits before answering. “Nah, my arms and legs are like ramen noodles right now.”

“Specifically ramen noodles?”

“Yes, dude, yes.”

“What flavor?”

“Oriental.”

“So basically, the one that tastes like nothing.”

“Oh my god!” Josh’s eyes go wide. “My arms and legs taste like nothing!”

Tyler laughs. “Josh, go to bed.”

They exit the bathroom together as the crew starts filing into the bus. Tyler slips into his bunk, and Josh throws himself into his.

Tyler falls asleep thinking about Josh.

Josh falls asleep thinking about his legs.

* * *

Tyler wakes up before Josh. He rolls over and out of his bunk, and stretches his spine. A line of pops and snaps trail up his back and through his knees. He pulls Josh’s bunk’s curtain aside to check on him. The sunlight that hits Josh's eyes is just bright enough to cause him to stir. He blinks a few times, and squeezes his eyes shut when he realizes he’s being blinded. Tyler moves his body so that he blocks the light from hitting Josh’s eyes.

“Sorry.”

Josh groans and rubs his eyes. “S’all good. G’morning.”

Tyler smiles. “Morning. Want breakfast?”

Josh smirks back. “Whatcha making, honey?”

Tyler shoves Josh’s shoulder. “Only the finest cuisine for the finest best friend.”

“So Cocoa Puffs?”

“Yep.” Tyler stands up and allows Josh room to emerge. When Josh stands, his hands immediately fly to his head. He hisses and leans against the wall for support. Tyler’s expression falls. “You okay?”

Despite his current state, Josh forces out a laugh. “I am… definitely hung over.” 

“That’s what happens when you drink three mojitos and two beers.”

“Whoa, whoa, what? I drank _how_ much?” Josh looks at him incredulously.

“Three mojitos, two Dos Equis. That’s all I counted before I left you alone. Do you not remember?”

“Actually, I…” Josh ponders, “I don’t remember much of anything at all.”

“Seriously?” Tyler turns to really look Josh in the eyes.

“Seriously. The last thing I can remember clearly is that girl with the black hair leaving us alone.” Josh just stares at him for a moment, then considers a thought. “You know, I think she was right.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean yeah, I’m hungover, but it’s nowhere near what I expected after being blackout drunk. I can probably get by just fine after taking some ibuprofen. And I don’t even feel sick to my stomach at all.”

“Huh. Liquor before beer…”

“You’re in the clear.”

Tyler smirks. “You know, I found you passed out at a table by yourself last night.”

Josh grimaces. “Oh god, did I do anything really stupid last night?”

“Nothing news-worthy. Although, you were quite concerned with what ramen flavor your legs might happen to be.”

Josh throws his head backwards and groans. Tyler giggles at this. “I’ve never been that drunk before in my life.”

“Let’s try to avoid making it a habit. Come on, your Cocoa Puffs await.”

Josh follows Tyler into the kitchen section of the bus and pops a few ibuprofen into his mouth as Tyler fixes them both breakfast. Tyler gives Josh a slightly higher amount of cereal than he gives himself. He wants to make sure his best friend has enough energy for the coming day, even if he’s only helping out just a little bit. 


	2. Agent Orange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh's first, second, and third times attempting to get high.

spooky jim christmas: yeah, dealing with anxiety can be tough. one thing that helped me was cutting back on caffeine.

amelia  |-/: okay, that’s good to know. another thing that helps me is smoking pot.

spooky jim christmas: haha i don’t know if i’ll be trying that any time soon. how effective is it for you though?

amelia  |-/: lol it’s not for everybody, but i find it much easier to socialize after smoking a bit.

spooky jim christmas: that’s interesting. it was nice talking to you, amelia. you can always come back and talk whenever you need to.

amelia  |-/: thanks again for answering my messages, josh! i look up to you guys so much. thanks for helping me figure out my anxiety. tell tyler i said hi! 

 

Josh closes the DM session and scrolls through his timeline for a few minutes without really reading any tweets. He begins to contemplate what _amelia|-/_ said about weed helping with anxiety, and opens a new tab. Typing  _can marijuana help with anxiety?_ into the search bar and clicking on the first link that appears, he doesn’t hear Tyler approach him from behind.

“Whatcha readin’?”

Josh nearly jumps out of his own skin. He quickly shuts his laptop. “Nothin’.”

Tyler raises an eyebrow. “Doesn’t look like nothin’.”

“I was DMing a fan. She says ‘hi’ by the way.”

“If you were just DMing a fan, why’d you close your laptop so quickly?”

“You scared me, dude.”

Tyler seems to accept this response. He pouts his bottom lip and nods his head before walking towards the kitchen area of the bus. “Want anything?”

“Nah,” Josh responds as he re-opens his laptop. Tyler can’t see the screen from where he is, so Josh feels safe with the page out in the open. He looks between the words he’s reading and Tyler as he rummages through the cabinets, and decides maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing to get a second opinion on the matter. “I’m thinking about buying some weed.”

Tyler pulls his head out of a cabinet and closes it slowly. He looks Josh in the eye with an unreadable expression. “Seriously?”

Josh shrinks back into his seat a bit, and feels that perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to tell Tyler. “Yeah… I just wanna see if it’ll help.”

“Help?”

“With my anxiety.” Josh drops his gaze and rubs the back of his neck, feeling stupid for even bringing up such a wild idea.

“Okay.”

Josh’s eyes snap up to meet Tyler’s, to make sure there’s no mockery behind them. “Okay?”

“Okay. If you think it’ll help, I say why not. Plus, everyone tries it at least once, right?”

“Everyone?”

“Probably, I don’t know.” Tyler shrugs. “How are you gonna buy it though?”

“I hadn’t even thought about that,” Josh admits.

Tyler cracks a wide smile. “Joshua, were you waiting for _my_ permission?”

Josh scoffs. “No.”

Tyler giggles and takes a seat next to him. “Why don’t we do some research before going out and making idiots of ourselves in front of drug dealers?”

“Good idea.” Josh opens a new tab and hovers the cursor over the search bar. “What kind of research? Like, what do we need to know?”

“How much you need, how much it costs, um… maybe what to smoke it out of?”

“Oh yeah, true.” 

Josh begins by typing in _how much weed will get you high?_ They read people’s stories and experiences and find that most commonly a dime will get one person high, and then they learn that a dime is ten dollars’ worth of weed. They learn that a dub is twenty dollars’ worth, and from there on the amounts are typically classified by weight. They look at various types of glassware, and learn all about bongs, pipes, and other “pieces”. Josh turns to Tyler.

“Are you gonna smoke too?”

“I mean…”

“Not to peer pressure you, or anything.”

“I guess I will.”

“I guess we should get a dub then.”

“Yeah, that’s probably good.”

“Great, now all we need is a dealer.”

“How do we find a dealer in a city we don’t really know?”

“Maybe we could… I don’t know, maybe check in dark alleys?”

Tyler looks at Josh incredulously. “Do you think drug dealer live in alleys?”

Josh shrugs. “I don’t know, where else do they live?”

“In homes. With families. And pets, probably.”

“Well then how do we find them?”

Tyler thinks for a moment, then pulls his phone out of his pocket. He opens Yik Yak, and waits for his location to load. Josh sees this and smiles.

“Dude, genius.”

“Completely anonymous.” Tyler looks pleased with himself. He opens a new post and writes _anyone selling pot?_ He shows Josh, who nods, and sends the post. Tyler locks his phone and sets it down on his lap, and then they wait. 

Three minutes go by before Tyler’s phone buzzes. He and Josh look at each other with a glimmer of adrenaline in their eyes. He opens his phone and slides the Yik Yak notification to the right. A response lies under Tyler’s query that reads _sure fam how much you need?_

“Tell them a dub, and ask if they have a piece we can buy,” Josh commands. Tyler nods and types what Josh says. 

After a minute they respond with _absolutely $20 for the bud $10 for the piece. give me ur kik or snapchat so we can pick a place to meet._

Josh takes Tyler’s phone and supplies his snapchat, and as soon as the dealer adds him, he deletes the Yik Yak post. They discuss a meeting place and decide on a Taco Bell three blocks from where the bus is currently resting. Josh and Tyler look to each other for assurance one more time, and carrying only their phones and thirty dollars in cash, they leave the bus.

* * *

 

Josh and Tyler stand behind a Taco Bell at midnight, pretending to be interested in their phones so as not to look suspicious. A white Toyota Corolla pulls into the parking lot and the boys glance at each other.

“No turning back now,” Tyler says. Josh swallows thickly and puts his phone in his pocket.

A tall, built young man steps out of the car and locks it. He begins walking toward Tyler and Josh. Despite his non-threatening demeanor, Tyler’s heart pounds away in his chest.

“Hey, guys, I’m Andrew.” The man smiles and holds out his hand. Josh hesitantly shakes it, and Tyler repeats his actions robotically. 

“Do you have it?” Josh asks, itching to get it over with.

“Got it right here.” He pulls a sandwich bag containing a small, but flourishing green plant out of his pocket. “This strain’s called ‘Agent Orange’.”

Josh scrunches his nose. “Like the chemical stuff they used in Vietnam?”

Andrew laughs. “Yeah, like that stuff.” Josh’s stomach turns. With shaking hands, he pulls his the cash from his pocket. Andrew notices him trembling. “Is this your first time?”

Josh looks him in the eye and holds his gaze for a moment, and Tyler watches the two, fearing they’ve done something wrong. Josh’s expression softens, and his set lips melt into a small smile. “Is it that obvious?”

“A little bit, man. Want some advice?” 

“Yes, please.”

“Alright, here’s the basics. You might not get high the first couple of times you smoke. Some people get lucky, but most likely you’ll stay sober until your body works up the tiniest bit of a tolerance and recognizes the high. This is normal. Want me to show you how to set up and smoke?” Josh nods. Andrew pulls a small glass piece and a lighter out of his pocket. He hands the items to Tyler, who holds them at a distance, and opens the sandwich bag. Instantly, a pungent smell surrounds the trio. Tyler tries to avoid it, while Josh finds it oddly satisfying. “Watch closely,” Andrew says. He removes a nug from the bag and begins plucking shriveled leaves from the stem. He places them in the bowl of the piece in Tyler’s hand until it’s just under overflowing. He zips the bag back up and stuffs it back into his pocket for the time being. He takes the piece and the lighter back from Tyler. “This is the carb.” He points to a hole in the side of the bowl. “You cover it up while lighting, and remove your finger while inhaling. Only remove it if you want more airflow.” He lights the sticky leaves and keeps his thumb on the carb as he inhales, then rapidly removes and replaces it over the hole. Josh watches the leaves light up orange with intrigue. Tyler can’t believe they’re about to put this stuff in their lungs. “Sorry for stealing greens,” Andrew says. Josh, unsure of what he means, only smiles. “Understand everything?”

“I think so,” Josh replies. He quickly recounts his cash and hands it off to Andrew. They exchange goods, and Josh is now holding drugs and drug paraphernalia for the first time. 

“You know what, since I took first hit, I’ll throw in the lighter for free.” Andrew sticks the lighter in Josh’s pocket and taps it twice.

“Oh, thanks.” Josh looks at Tyler. They hadn’t even considered buying a lighter. 

“I gotta run. If you don’t wanna smoke the rest of that bowl pack right now just wrap the piece in some plastic wrap. Oh, and you should invest in a grinder if you’re taking this seriously, okay?”

“Okay. Thanks again, man.”

Andrew gives a final wave and returns to his Corolla. As the little white car drives off, Tyler and Josh stay in place. Josh looks down at the full piece in his hand. 

“We probably shouldn’t smoke it on the bus. It’ll probably smell,” Tyler suggests.

“Good call.” Josh looks around the parking lot, finds a dumpster, and starts heading towards it.

“Where are you going?”

Josh takes one final look around and squats behind the dumpster. Tyler frantically scans the parking lot and squats in front of Josh. Following Andrew’s instructions, Josh takes his first hit with the weed that’s already packed. He holds his thumb off the carb for a bit too long and inhales a bit too harshly, and begins coughing almost immediately. 

“Are you okay?”

Josh can’t give a verbal answer, but he nods and hands Tyler the piece and the lighter. Hesitantly, Tyler takes the piece and raises it to his mouth. He lights the charred leaves and rapidly moves his thumb over the carb, like Andrew demonstrated. He still ends up coughing, but significantly less than Josh.

“Dude, you gotta,” he coughs, “you gotta pull in the tiniest amount of air. Like not even as much as you think.”

“Okay.” Josh takes the piece and lighter back and tries again. He manages to hold back his coughs this time around, though his eyes tear up and threaten to leak. 

They pass it back and forth a few times before Tyler decides he doesn’t like the burning sensation in the back of his throat. Josh agrees that Tyler’s vocal chords are a priority, and keeps taking hits for himself from then on.

“Do you feel anything yet?” Tyler asks.

While moving the charred bits around and flicking out the ash, Josh responds. “No, but the guy said it might not work the first time. I think this is done.” He picks the last of the ash out of the bowl and shoves everything into his pocket. They stand up, stretch, and head back to their tour bus to call it a night.

* * *

 

The next night, after a show, Josh decides to give it another shot. He packs the bowl and stands outside the bus with Tyler, learning how to curb his airflow.

“Josh?”

“Hm?”

“Just, promise me you’ll be careful, okay?”

Josh pauses, and looks at Tyler.

“I just don’t wanna see you getting into more serious drugs than this. This isn’t that bad, but just be careful, okay?”

Josh smiles. “I promise, Tyler. I’ll be careful.”

 

Josh doesn’t get high.

* * *

Josh has his and Tyler’s hotel room to himself.

Tyler’s out with Mark exploring the area. Josh elects to sleep in and spend the day lounging around in his pajamas. He’s sitting on the queen size bed with his laptop next to him, open on the google search _agent orange strain._ In his hands are the sandwich bag with a surprisingly large nug left, the piece, and the lighter. He opens the bag and sucks in a long breath, taking in the smell he’s grown an appreciation for. Just as he has the previous two days, he picks the shriveled leaves from the dry stem and drops them in the bowl. Josh stops packing once it’s full, but realizes that there’s barely half a bowl pack left. He pushes what’s already in the piece down with his index finger and overflows the bowl with the rest of the leaves. He sets the piece down on the adjacent nightstand and walks to the windows. He pulls the curtains aside and winces at the change in light before opening all the windows for ventilation. Rubbing his eyes, he walks back and blindly but gently picks up the piece. He settles himself back in his spot on the bed and returns to his laptop. 

The first link is for a website called _Leafly._ He lights the greens, takes a drag, and clicks the link before exhaling. As he reads the information, he keeps smoking.

 

_ Don’t let the name scare you! The only herbicidal warfare Agent Orange will wage is between the excellence of this strain's flavors and uplifting  effects. A well-balanced well-balanced  hybrid  that combines the smooth  Orange Velvet  Velllllvet with the bold Jack the Ripper , Agent Orange will capture cap ture your senses. Wonderful smelllllllllls of  oranges  and fresh-cut citrus  fruit will enTICE you immediately, while the pigments of deep deep marooooon and purple will make this bud stand out in a sea of greeeeen. The effects are u p l i f t i n g and motivating, serving as a great mooooood enhancer if you are feeling l e t h a r g i c or  depresssssssed . The efffffffects are uplLIFTING and motivotivating, serving as as a great mood enhaaaancer if you are feeeeeling lethARGIC or dep depressed. _

 

“Josh?”

Josh looks up from his screen and sees Tyler standing in the middle of the room. “Hey, I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Are you stoned?”

Josh is about to ask what he means when he considers what he said. He must not have realized it at first, but Josh is seeing things differently than ever before. His vision is tinted slightly yellow, as though his eyes have a sepia lens over them, and time seems to be moving all at once and standing still at the same time. He places the piece and lighter on the nightstand, looks down at his hands, then bolts into a standing position and looks back at Tyler.

“Holy crap, I am.”

Tyler’s eyes go wide and he laughs. “No way!”

Josh puts one foot forward and freezes. “Oh my god.”

“What?” Tyler stops laughing and hinges on half a smile as he looks into Josh’s red, half-lidded eyes.

“I am so high, Tyler.” He starts giggling.

Tyler relaxes and giggles with him. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t think I’m un-okay.” Josh bares his teeth in a lazy smile.

Tyler lets out a genuine, hearty laugh at that.

“Dude, I’m so hungry.”

Tyler stands back and watches as Josh moseys over to his bag and pulls out a full sleeve of oreos. He eats seven without milk and without stopping to take a breath. Tyler holds a hand over his mouth as he tries to stifle laughter. 

Josh looks up at him. “What?”

“Dude, you have the munchies.”

“What?”

“You just devoured a bunch of oreos without stopping, in about two minutes flat, all while staring blankly at the wall the whole time.”

“That was only two minutes?”

“Yeah ish.”

“It felt like, like twenty! Dude, what the hell!” Josh has a look of dumb excitement on his face and Tyler can’t hold back a smile.

“Dude, it kinda reeks in here. Maybe we should spray some cologne or something.”

Josh looks disappointed. “Oh man, I opened the windows so it wouldn’t smell.”

“It’s fine, just grab your cologne from your bag and spray it around the room.”

“Good idea.” Josh closes the oreo sleeve and stuffs it back into his bag. He searches through bundles of clothing and toiletries, and inevitably forgets his assigned task. He abandons his bag and opens his phone. Not knowing the purpose for which he opened his phone, he locks it. He looks around and then notices that his phone is in his hand, so he opens it again. 

Tyler doesn’t even blink as he watches Josh repeat this cycle. He’s in awe of how fascinated Josh seems to be with the functionality of his iPhone. He realizes the room still smells.

“Josh!”

Josh looks up, looks down at his phone, then looks up again. His eyelids seem to be struggling to catch up with the speed at which his head is moving. “Dude, everything that just went so slow also just went so fast.”

Tyler grabs Josh’s arm and sits him down on the bed. “How about we watch some TV, okay Josh?”

Josh nods. Tyler turns on Cartoon Network and Josh quickly becomes entranced. They watch episode after fifteen-minute episode of cartoons of similar styles and bright color schemes that keep Josh occupied. Tyler sneaks a peak at Josh during a commercial break. He’s staring at the screen with his mouth slightly agape, eyes bloodshot and drooping. Tyler lowers the volume.

“How do you feel?”

Josh finally breaks eye contact with the screen. “I’ll be honest. A bit less high, but still far from sober.”

“Is it doing what you thought it would?” Josh gives him a questioning look. “Is it helping with your anxiety?”

“I think maybe, but it’s hard to tell. I’m never anxious around you, and you’re the only one I’ve been with all day.”

Tyler blushes. He throws an arm around Josh’s shoulders before speaking in very close proximity to his face. “Can you do me a favor and keep moderation in mind if you do this in the future?”

“Absolutely.”

They go back to watching cartoons and Josh eventually falls asleep on Tyler’s shoulder. After one more episode of Steven Universe, Tyler falls asleep with his head resting atop Josh’s, the latter’s curly hair tickling an unconscious smile onto the former’s face.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! So basically, this story is based on all of my experiences with drugs and alcohol. Josh represents me, and Tyler represents the conscience and self-control I wish I had while I was going through these experiences. I'm writing this story as a form of therapy; it's an alternative to me doing drugs. 
> 
> Please feel free to leave me a comment! Critique my writing, ask me questions, tell me about your day, whatever you want. <3
> 
> ~mindlesszombies~


End file.
